(Note: I use AI to help me translate my stories from Japanese to English.)
Kazuo Inamori (1932–2022) was one of the founders of Kyocera and KDDI, both of which are very large Japanese companies. He is often called a Japanese “god of management,” like Konosuke Matsushita (1894–1989). Inamori also established the Inamori Foundation and created the Kyoto Prize, which is now a very prestigious award, comparable to the Nobel Prize.
When he was 78, the government asked him to help revive JAL, a Japanese airline. People said it was impossible to revive JAL, but after several years, he and his team were able to achieve it.
In 2016, I attended a speech by Kazuo Inamori. I was really looking forward to hearing his speech, thinking it might be my last chance to see him. However, to be honest, I was a little disappointed, because he only read from his manuscript. Nevertheless, I was happy to see him in person.
He spoke about what the purpose of life should be. He said that our purpose in life is to purify our souls through good deeds. He also said that destiny is not predetermined — you can change it. He explained that he was able to accomplish something as difficult as reviving JAL because he had a pure mind.